The other day, after spending some time in the garden enjoying the bee chorus and the blue, spring flowers, I felt inspired to refill my vases. My little flower containers have been empty and neglected in recent weeks, through lack of time and inspiration, but when the bees sang their songs, and the flowers waved and swayed and entranced my senses, my hands and heart were set in motion; picking and sorting, and putting a stem here and turning another there, until every bloom and piece of foliage ‘felt’ right to my own peculiar sensibilities; my own perception, and understanding, of how each precious creation should be honoured.
And this is what came about:
first this;
then this;
and, finally, this.
Then, with the vases set before me, I sat for a while and enjoyed delightful moments of ‘squee’ at the incredible, intricate gorgeousness of the petals and leaves. And, THAT, if we are to believe (and I do) The Botany of Desire , by Michael Pollan, is most likely what the flowers and plants want me to do; squee!!! These flowers, this foliage, are designed, and created, to appeal to the same nurturing part of every individual that makes us love puppies and kittens and babies, and, maybe, bees with their sweet, good honey. Something in the plant’s genetic code reaches out to ours, and, if we are willing and open to persuasion, it allows us to work together on a beautiful, mutually beneficial arrangement. For, in this modern age, our lives are impossible, one without the other. Or, so I believe 🙂
- Mutually beneficial
- Flower arrangement
© silkannthreades
Pingback: All the parts of the whole picture | silkannthreades
They are lovely.
Thank you 🙂
Beautiful flower arrangements! Love them❤️
I can feel a gooooooood smell from here! I’m sure Malus dose too!!!!😃❤️
I am sure Malus can smell the catmint 🙂
Thank you for the lovely post and a real reminder for me to stop and smell the roses/flowers. It has been hectic here, one way and another. We had a day of summer weather yesterday and lots of flowers appeared. So the next fine day (wet, windy and chilly here today ……again) I will go and smell the flowers and allow their images to come to me and my camera in a gentle fashion.
I talk to my plants as I believe that helps both parties!!!:-)
It has been hectic here today with my son deciding that it was possible to do a final exam, clear out his flat, get a WOF for the car and catch a plane to Auckland….in less than 10 hours. Well, of course, he could and did, but my house is now littered with flat contents….quick ,I need those flowers again. And I do believe we have mutually beneficial conversations with our plants and our birds 🙂
Real flowers in the house make such a huge difference. They smell, look nice and generally are very enjoyable. I must go and get some…
Even the smallest bunch of flowers makes a huge difference. Do you remember the time when recipe books always had a section on ‘invalid care’? One of my old books says this ” When serving food to Invalids, remember to: set the tray daintily; use the most attractive china and linen; use a flower or small posy on the tray…..” Those helpful hints always make me smile! And apply not only to invalids, in my opinion. And, if I can’t find flowers, bowls of fresh fruit lift the spirits too 🙂
So very true. I wonder if people recovered quicker when treated to lace and china?
I wonder? I think it would work wonders with me 😉
I love the thought that plants and flowers want us to ‘squee’ at them. Fresh flowers in the home is so uplifting – your bouquets are beautiful. I get a lot of my jewellery inspiration from flowers.
And you must have a lot of beautiful flowers around to inspire you. I have just looked at the website for your Botanic Gardens which apparently have a beautiful rose garden, and then on your Parks website it says this “With more than 10-million trees, the City of Johannesburg looks like a rain forest on satellite pictures. There are more than 4-million in private gardens through the city’s suburbs and about 2,5-million trees in parks, cemeteries, nature reserves, conservation areas, roadsides and on the city’s pavements.” I think the squee factor must be at work in your city to have so many trees etc; as you told me before, Jo’burg is supposed to be one of the greenest cities in the world.
In my little garden, my Strelitzia’s are my favourite flower. I haven’t been to the Botanical Gardens in a while – there is one here in Joburg, and another in Cape Town – time for a visit soon I think. It is quite heartening that as urbanisation increases tree planting schemes are trying to keep the equation in balance. In our little area alone they have probably planted about 300 saplings in the last few years. Hopefully the squee factor will keep going strong!!
The Strelitzias are striking 🙂 And 300 saplings is a magnificent effort. A few years ago the Council planted Scarlet Pin Oaks in our street. They are growing quite well but I think I would have preferred a smaller tree right against my fence line!
So beautiful!
Thank you Ute 🙂
Definitely will try to see the PBS documentary – thanks for sharing this info. The geranium and hebe arrangement is so delicate and lovely.
Thank you 🙂 These supposedly ‘commonplace’ flowers bring so much pleasure; every bit as beautiful as the most precious of gems.
This is great! I love, LOVE, that book by Pollan–it changed my way of seeing the world, literally. And your arrangements and photos help make his point so well. Plus, of course, anything about flowers is welcome here, now that ours are gone for the year!
It changed my views too! Have you seen the documentary done by PBS? I have seen a link to it on Youtube but haven’t actually watched all of it. I wonder if it helps or messes with the flower world to show flowers all the time. Perhaps the idea of autumn and winter is to make us to feel even more in love with flowers when they reappear? If only I could hear what the plants are saying 😉
Your sensibilities are spot on, the arrangements are lovely. As is the bulbous glass container in the first image.
I was so pleased to find a use for the bulbous (lovely word) container. I have a few of them in different colours. They used to contain fragrance. I think I will have fun with them this summer, as more flowers come in the garden 🙂
Beautiful arrangements…I especially like the Heuchera, Hebe and Catmint. It has very nice contrasting colors and textures. 🙂
I am glad you think so. I am not sure which one I like the best.
Thank you for the gift of beautiful flowers 🙂
It is good to be able to give something to brighten the day 🙂
Yes and its dark and rainy all day here, so I especially enjoyed the flowers 🙂
Excellent that I could help out. Keep warm and cosy.
I am always amazed when I can see others create a bouquet of any kind….this girl does not have a green thumb☺Happy Monday.
Thank you 🙂 You have been blessed with a photographic thumb!
While I’m watching our landscape enter autumn’s magic, you are experiencing the bounty of spring. Thanks for the early morning flowers–just lovely.
Early morning flowers have a certain magic, don’t they? It’s one of the best times to be in the garden.
oh!
you have not only the most divine flowers (and an exquisite eye) but the loveliest glass vases.
we adored this post.
*wavingfrommanhattan*
_tg xxx
Waving back to you in the air somewhere, probably 🙂
I agree with Pollan – also I love the first bouquet the best.
It’s fun to see which arrangements appeal to people the most 🙂 I wouldn’t mind one of those lovely porcelain flowers that featured on your blog!
Such lovely flowers. And you arrange them beautifully!
Thank you 🙂
Those flowers and foliage are lovely and so your arrangements of them in the vase. I like the “finally, this”.
Thank you for the link to “The Botany of Desire”. That is an interesting study. I think plants and us are friends with benefits 🙂
Glad you enjoyed my little arrangements. There is a youtube video of The Botany of Desire made by PBS. You may like to look at some of that 🙂
lovely
Thank you 🙂
You are an artist!
As I am sure we all are, if we allow ourselves to be. Imagine how wonderful the world would be, if we all took even a minute a day to release our inner artist 🙂
I know what you mean about the Botany of Desire – beautiful flowers beautifully arranged are very soothing to the spirit. Your arrangements soothe my spirit beautifully.
I am so pleased to hear it. Weren’t we lucky to grow up surrounded by beautiful tropical flowers? And to know that it was okay to put a flower in your hair 🙂 just because.
Gallivanta – Absolutely beautiful… Hebe remind me of lilacs. Are they in the same family?
I don’t believe so, but my blogger friend Lynley (ordinarygood) has pointed out, on another blog we both folow, that there is a hebe here with the common name of New Zealand lilac http://www.hebesoc.org/hebes/hebes_h/hebe_hulkeana/hebe_hulkeana.htm This is not the same hebe as I have in my garden though.
so soothing! so lovely! kudos~
A big thank you to someone who has a Holler full of loveliness.
This made my late nite, so beautiful!
Perhaps it will give you some more steam!!!!
Those are really beautiful and well arranged. Now I know one more of your talent. I wish I could replace Heuchera with Parsley. 😀
I wouldn’t get a job as a florist but I have fun in my own way! I am sure I could replace the heuchera with parsley! In fact, you may have given me an idea about how to fill a very big flower container that I have!
No no no no… you don’t have to be a florist and get paid. It is a tiring job actually, I usually buy the parsley for flowers bouquet because I don’t grow them at my garden.
Yes, I think florists do have a tiring job. They work very hard.
And most of the florist have long nails too. I am scared of someone with long nails!
Really! Then there is no way I can be a florist. I don’t have long nails!!!!!!
Oh that sounds so great! so there is nothing I should afraid of. 😀
🙂
My dear friend, I really need your help. Does my blog display properly as usual? I think I click wrong thing that caused I can not see the image on my dashboard. Please let me know. Thank you.
I can see everything clearly up to your post of November 3rd.
Did you post anything after that?
No, have not post new thing yet. That is OK. The problem is in my dashboard. I will find out and ask the support what is going on. Thanks a lot for your report. I am sorry for bothering you. Have a nice rest
No problem. WordPress has been changing things this past week, so odd things keep happening.
Now, I have solved the problem and my blog has returned to normal. Thank you, Gallivanta. 😀
Excellent. But now my WordPress reader has made some more changes today. I can’t keep up!
😀
Beautiful bouquets and all the more lovely because it’s spring there and fall here, which means you’ve taken us time traveling 😉 .
Yes! Who said time travel wasn’t possible. (Certainly not the Doctor.)